Phoenix L.
Phoenix is a small genus of 13 or 14 species, native in the Old World (chiefly southern Europe, Africa and southern Asia) (Mabberley 2008, Gros-Balthazard 2013). Several species are cultivated as ornamentals or as commercial crops (e.g. Phoenix dactylifera, date palm). The latter has been recorded as a casual alien in Belgium.
Literature:
Barrow S.C. (1998) A monograph of Phoenix L. (Palmae: Coryphoideae). Kew Bull. 53: 513-575.
Barrow S. (1999) Systematic studies in Phoenix L. (Palmae: Coryphoideae). Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 83: 215-223.
Becker A. (1985) Phoenix L. Palmengarten 49(2): 85-88.
González-Pérez M.A., Caujapé Castells J. & Sosa P.A. (2004) Molecular evidence of hybridisation between the endemic Phoenix canariensis and the widespresd P. dactylifera with Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. Pl. Syst. Evol. 247(3-4): 165-175.
Gros-Balthazard M. (2013) Hybridization in the genus Phoenix: A review. Emir. J. Food Agric. 25(11): 831-842. [available online at: http://ejfa.info/index.php/ejfa/article/viewFile/16660/8877]
Hodel D.R. (1995) Phoenix: the date palms. Palm J. 122: 14-36.
Mabberley D.J. (2008) Mabberley’s plant-book (3th ed.). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge: XVIII + 1021 p.